Tag: Baptist pastor

Aggrieved members of the Ajegunle Baptist Church, Agbowo, Ibadan locked out the church pastor and other members on Sunday over allegations that the pastor was embezzling funds and abusing his office.

The aggrieved members under the umbrella of “Concerned Members”, accused the church pastor, Reverend Oyewole Oyekan of running the financial affairs of the church alone and keeping over N4 million belonging to the church in his personal account.

“Our pastor has turned himself to the treasurer and financial secretary of the church, whereas we employed him. He spends our money singlehandedly without getting clearance from the financial secretary or church council, Spokesman for the concerned members, Sangolade Olufemi told Nigerian Tribune.

“We reported him to the association, conference; all they were doing was to appeal to us to give peace a chance. We have proved it beyond reasonable ground and we want him to leave our church.”

In response, Oyekan described the allegations leveled against him as false. He held that he has not been formally indicted by the auditor, financial secretary, treasurer or church in council on the allegations of embezzlement.

“Every quarter, we report everything to the church, the auditor’s report, the financial secretary report, treasurer report, and none of such reports has ever indicted me for anything,” the embattled clergyman said.

“The hidden agenda is that I have been here for 18 years, and they want our members to go so that they can share the properties of the church. In the Baptist church, we don’t do that. They claim to be foundation members. We have people who have been here for over 20 years, who are said to be visitors.”

The pastor insisted that the Baptist convention has not fired him and has told the aggrieved members to let peace reign but they refused.

“They say the Baptist convention, the Ibadan Baptist conference, the association, the church in conference, deacons are biased,” Oyekan said.

Secretary of the church, Deacon Oladosu Olusola, said the agitators should rather follow due process in advancing their agitations.

Punch Games

A cleric with the Nigerian Baptist Conference in Ondo State, Pastor Deji Joshua, has been killed in Okitipupa, in the Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state by suspected armed robbers.

The deceased was the pastor in charge of the Goodnews Baptist Church, Igbegunrin, Ilaje/Apoi Association of the Ondo State Baptist Conference.

According to a police source, the deceased was on his motorcycle when the suspected robbers killed him on Ode Aye Road.

The source, who said the incident occurred at about 11.30pm on Monday, added that the robbers stole the motorcycle.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the command had commenced investigation into the incident.

He said, “When we heard about the attack on the pastor, our men moved to the scene and we saw bullet injuries on his body. Investigation is ongoing.”

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ondo State, Revd. John Oladapo, urged the police to fish out the killers of the cleric.

Oladapo, who is also a Baptist conference pastor, said, “We are imploring the police and other security agencies to fish out the killers and bring them to book.”

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Punch Games

A Christian cleric, working for the Nigerian Baptist Conference in Ondo State, identified as Pastor Deji Joshua was reportedly killed in okitipupa, the headquarters of okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday night by some suspected armed robbers.

The deceased was the pastor in charged of the Goodnews Baptist Church, Igbegunrin in Ilaje/Apoi Baptist Association of Ondo State Baptist Conference.

According to a source, the deceased was on his motorcycle when the suspected robbers attacked and killed him on Ode Aye road. They were also said to have taken away the motorcycle after he had been killed.

According to a police source, the incident occurred at about 11.30pm on Monday.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident and said the command had commenced investigation into the incident.

He said, “When we heard about the incident, our men moved to the scene and we saw bullet wounds on his body. We will conduct an autopsy to know the actual cause of the death.”

In his reaction, the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Revd. John Ayo Oladapo, urged the security agencies in the state to fish out the killers of the Baptist cleric.

Oladapo, who is also a Baptist pastor said, “We are saddened by the incident and we are imploring the police and other security agents to fish out the killers and bring them to book. “